SA teams need to add value to the Champions Cup

The Champions Cup, Europe’s premier club rugby competition, returns this weekend with the Bulls and Stormers the only South African teams involved this season. The Sharks, Lions and Cheetahs will be in action in the “second tier” Challenge Cup.

The competition, which is the equivalent of football’s Uefa Champions League, has been criticised by some in Europe who’ve suggested it has lost its essence and aura because of the involvement of the South African teams. It is, they say, no longer the European Cup.

Their traditionalist mentality needs to be respected, but we should not forget the Champions Cup has for some time had many Springbok players, and others from outside Europe, playing in the competition.

The new-look Champions Cup, with so many world-class players now involved, has the potential to grow to even greater heights.

More competitive

The Bulls and Stormers are among the top-tier rugby clubs in the world and their involvement in the competition, along with the other SA teams when they qualify, will only make it more competitive and attractive for spectators.

Looking at this weekend’s fixtures, the Bulls host Premiership side Saracens, which will include several England internationals, at Loftus Versfeld, while the Stormers will travel to England to take on Handre Pollard and Jasper Wiese’s Leicester Tigers. The battle at flyhalf between Pollard and Manie Libbok will be a big draw.

These kinds of matchups in the Champions Cup will be a big hit with local fans; they now get to watch their teams take on the giants of European rugby.

Win over naysayers

For the SA teams to win over their naysayers in Europe, they will need to perform well and add value to the competition, just as they have in the United Rugby Championship, with the Stormers winning the trophy at the first time of asking.

Also, with the SA teams being involved in big European club rugby competitions it allows the Springbok players to stay in South Africa, but still be a part of the action up north, with the quality of rugby at a very high standard.

The Champions Cup, and to a lesser extent the Challenge Cup, has a “big boys rugby” feel about it and that’s a good thing.